A follow‐up study of the effects of vasectomy on sexual behavior

Abstract

We have been studying the rate of disappearance of spermatozoa from the semen specimen after vasectomy and have reported a new and simple method of determining when aspermia exists (Freund and Davis, 1969a, 1969b, 1970). It seemed to us of interest to follow up the couples in our vasectomy series in order to determine what effects, if any, vasectomy had on their sexual activity and what their perception was of the influence of the operation. We were also interested in the medical sequelae of vasectomy and how these influenced the resumption of and the pattern of sexual intercourse after vasectomy. It was decided to separately interview both husband and wife in order to observe the degree of discrepancy between the partners, to check the data, and also to determine how each partner perceived the effects of vasectomy on the other.